1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of two-dimensional and three-dimensional computer animation and pertains particularly to methods and apparatus for rendering and modifying simulated terrain in a virtual world.
2. Discussion of the State of the Art
In the field of computer animation, gaming platforms exist that enable users, who may be content creators or company programmers, as well as players, with the aid of computing appliances to access a two-dimensional or three dimensional game or virtual world and interact with various game features, many of which are built by and are modifiable by users. In typical art, terrain rendering or building involves a user creating virtual terrain and then adding to it or otherwise modifying the terrain to suit game playing requirements for themselves and other users.
Terrain and some other features of virtual environments may be built using virtual blocks or bricks that are categorized in the game system and that are accessible through a content server or the like connected to the server running the virtual environment. In these cases, adding blocks is controlled through physical simulation in the terrain building process. One limitation to this approach is that the number of blocks that can be added to a terrain as well as the expediency of the process is limited by the available computational resources provided by the simulation engine.
Therefore, what is clearly needed is a method and apparatus for rendering and modifying terrain in a virtual environment that does not rely solely on the physics simulator controlling the environment.